In this section

ECONOMIC HISTORY.

Agriculture. Assarting
in St. Leonard's Forest was being practised in the
Middle Ages with the conversion of herdsmen's
seasonal settlements to permanent agricultural ones.
By 1326 there were 100 a. of demesne arable at Bewbush; (fn. 1) possibly most of it lay around the manor
house, but fields separated by shaws in the extreme
north, which in 1981 gave an impression of forest
clearings, may represent medieval assarting. There
were presumably assarts in the south too, like the one
belonging to John of Ifield in Shelley bailiwick (in
Crawley detached) which was ratified in 1330. (fn. 2) By
1499 there was arable land in various parts of the
forest. (fn. 3)

In the mid 16th century more deliberate efforts
were made to reclaim the forest for arable. Thomas
Seymour, Lord Seymour, during the brief period
when he owned it (1547-9), (fn. 4) converted much land
into holdings for small farmers, (fn. 5) who paid rent to
the Crown as landlord in 1573 (fn. 6) and ten years later
apparently had rights of pasture over the parts of the
forest still uninclosed. (fn. 7) In 1602 there were c. 40
tenants holding between them c. 4,000 a.; most
holdings were under 50 a. in area, but two containing heathland and woodland were of 1,500 a. and
208 a. and another of 900 a. comprised only heath.
Most closes were small, and only about a tenth of
the land seems then to have been farmed as arable. (fn. 8)
Arable land in the south part of the forest was mentioned c. 1684. (fn. 9) In the long term, however, the
reclamation of 1547-9 does not seem to have been
successful, and much of the reclaimed land had
apparently been turned over to rabbit warrens before 1800. (fn. 10) One manor outside the parish, Hyde
manor in Slaugham, (fn. 11) is known to have had tenants
within it in the early 17th century. A further attempt
at reclamation made in the 1630s or 1640s was also
unsuccessful: Sir Richard Weston, lord of the forest
by 1638, (fn. 12) experimented with new agricultural
techniques, but his plan to raise corn by intensive
sheepfolding failed because of the wetness of the
ground. (fn. 13) More successful was the disparking of
New park in the south-west corner; the land had
been reclaimed for arable possibly by c. 1620 and
certainly by 1667, (fn. 14) though at the latter date the soil
was said to be very poor. (fn. 15) In 1794 Park farm together with Parkgate farm, in Cowfold, comprised
346 a., and was let on a 7-year lease. (fn. 16) By the same
date part at least of the centre of the parish was cultivated, for Springfield Farm is partly 18th-century. (fn. 17)

Meanwhile the more fertile land around Bewbush
Manor House was divided in 1650 between several
farms, winter corn, among other crops, being
grown. (fn. 18) In the later 18th century most arable within
the parish was at Bewbush; there were five farms in
1787, of which the three largest, including Kilnwood
farm, comprised 173 a., 224 a., and 479 a., and were
let for periods of 14 or 21 years. (fn. 19) The land in the
parish then said to yield 16 bu. of corn an acre was
presumably at Bewbush. (fn. 20)

Stock listed in the parish in 1801 included 52
cows, 85 young cattle and colts, 1,185 sheep, and 143
pigs. (fn. 21) Despite the opinion expressed in the late 18th
century that most of the uninclosed parts of the
parish were not worth reclaiming, (fn. 22) much was in fact
assarted in the earlier 19th century. In 1801 the two
warrens in the centre of the parish, comprising
3,000 a., were let on a 100-year lease with permission
to destroy all the rabbits on the premises, to fell
timber, and to plough up the land. The lands were
further divided during the next six years, and parcels
of 1 a., with cottages, were sublet by the lessees. (fn. 23)
By c. 1813 nearly 2,000 a. had been reclaimed, some
of it described as very productive, (fn. 24) but with falling
corn prices much land went out of cultivation before
1834, when the rest was said to be very poor and
hardly worth farming. (fn. 25) A second programme of
reclamation, presumably with underdraining, (fn. 26) was
pursued in the 1840s, (fn. 27) when the heathland of
Plummers Plain and between Hammerpond Road
and Colgate was perhaps largely cleared. Meanwhile
reclamation of the former rabbit warren in Bewbush
tithing had begun before 1824, when 133 a. near
Buchan Hill were described as newly assarted. (fn. 28) The
buildings of Shepherdsfield Farm near Buchan Hill,
which are of early 19th-century character, were presumably built in connexion with that campaign. The
straight-sided closes, variable in size, which existed
in those three areas of the parish in the 1870s (fn. 29) presumably also date from the period of reclamation.

In the late 1830s landownership in the main part
of the parish, i.e. excluding Bewbush tithing, was
dominated by the Aldridge family of St. Leonard's
house, which owned at least 3,400 a., including a
home farm of 1,022 a. Other farms in the main part
of the parish, which belonged to smaller landowners
and were let to tenants, included Grouse farm,
Plummers Plain farm, and Docker's Lodge farm;
several were between 40 a. and 110 a. in size. (fn. 30) Bewbush tithing similarly was dominated by the Holmbush estate which comprised 870 a. in hand,
including the home farm and Kilnwood farm, and
three let farms of 98 a., 158 a., and 271 a. (fn. 31) There
was then more arable in Bewbush tithing than
meadow and pasture, though the soil was described
as light and poor and the method of farming
unsystematic. (fn. 32)

Five farmers were listed in the parish in 1845. (fn. 33)
In 1851 there were 6 farms over 200 a. in area, each
employing between 6 and 12 men, besides many
other holdings, some of c. 60-70 a. and others of only
a few acres. (fn. 34) Seventeen farmers were listed in
1862. (fn. 35) The St. Leonard's house estate remained the
largest in the parish in 1878, when it included c. 20
farms in Lower Beeding and Nuthurst of between
22 a. and 312 a., almost all let for periods of up to
21 years. (fn. 36) From the 1860s the large estates began to
be kept in hand and managed by bailiffs: the Holmbush, Leonardslee, and Buchan Hill estates, for
instance, were so treated in 1882. (fn. 37) In 1909 there was
more owner-occupied than rented land, the two
largest holdings, of over 300 a. each, being both
owned or mainly so. Fifty of the other 70 holdings in
the parish then were of less than 50 a. (fn. 38)

Agricultural improvement continued during the
later 19th century, especially on the large estates.
Underdraining, presumably introduced into the
parish during the reclamation of the 1840s, was put
in at Willis's farm near Lower Beeding village c.
1864. (fn. 39) Lower Bewbush farm was being similarly
improved at the same period, and by 1875 was all
underdrained. (fn. 40) Elsewhere farmhouses were rebuilt
on new sites, for instance at Park farm in the southwest and at Church farm in Lower Beeding village
before 1878. The St. Leonard's house estate had
undergone great improvements in the 1870s, (fn. 41) and
there was steam-driven machinery at the home farm
there by 1896. (fn. 42)

In 1875 over 2,000 a. of arable were listed in the
the parish, besides 1,259 a. of permanent grass;
wheat and oats were the main crops, and 410 cattle
and 1,519 sheep were listed. (fn. 43) Two thirds of the area
of Lower Bewbush farm was arable in 1875, (fn. 44) and
much of the centre of the parish was arable in 1878. (fn. 45)
Meanwhile, as in neighbouring parishes, land use
was much affected by the growth of London and
other towns. There had been c. 100 a. of orchards at
Park farm in the south-west in 1834, (fn. 46) which in 1852
were described as very valuable. (fn. 47) Much orchard
land existed in the latter area in the 1870s, when
there was also some near Lower Beeding village. (fn. 48)
In 1909 the chief fruit crop was apples. (fn. 49) At the
same date there were three poultry farmers. (fn. 50) Dairying and cattle raising also greatly increased during
the later 19th century, at the expense of arable. In
1882 there were eight cowkeepers, and in 1895 two
dairy farmers. (fn. 51) By 1909 most of the arable in the
parish had been converted to pasture, reversing the
former balance: only c. 500 a. of arable, mostly oats,
was then returned, while the acreage of permanent
grass had increased by two and a half times to
3,138 a., 800 cattle and 1,288 sheep being listed. (fn. 52) By
the same date at Buchan Hill agriculture was eclipsed
in importance by game preservation. (fn. 53)

The larger estates of the parish continued to be
kept in hand after the First World War; (fn. 54) in 1957
several were managed by bailiffs. (fn. 55) In 1975, of
1,559 ha. returned more than 90 per cent was owneroccupied, all except three of the 42 holdings then
listed being less than 100 ha. in size. (fn. 56) The predominance of non-arable agriculture continued during the same period. In 1938, for instance, 7 poultry
farmers were listed in the parish. (fn. 57) The Leonardslee
home farm specialized in cattle after 1920, (fn. 58) while
in 1938 dairy farming and pig breeding as well as
fruit growing were practised at Orchard farm in the
south-west. (fn. 59) Some land in the last-named area
remained in orchards in 1956, (fn. 60) and in the following
year five market gardens, nurseries, or fruit farms
were listed, one market gardener specializing in
mushrooms. One nursery and two market gardens
existed near Lower Beeding village in 1971, (fn. 61) and
there was one of each in 1981. In 1957 there were
also four poultry farmers, a dairy farmer, and a pig
breeder in the parish. (fn. 62) Livestock and poultry still
predominated in 1975, when five holdings specialized in dairying and five in livestock rearing and
fattening, one chiefly of sheep, and the others chiefly
of cattle. Sheep then listed numbered 926, cattle
1,631, pigs no fewer than 1,756, and there were also
over 15,000 head of poultry, kept chiefly for egg
production. (fn. 63)

Fair.

A fair in St. Leonard's Forest, possibly
originally for selling feral horses, was being held by
1438. (fn. 64) In 1441 and later it was held on St. Leonard's
day (6 November), (fn. 65) but after the mid 18th-century
change of calendar on 17 November. (fn. 66) In 1631 the
profit was said to be 10s. a year. (fn. 67) In 1724 the fair
was apparently held on Mannings Heath in Nuthurst; (fn. 68) it is not clear whether it had always been
held there, but Booth's land, described as the site in
1608, (fn. 69) may have been nearby. (fn. 70) In the late 18th century the fair was apparently chiefly a cattle fair, (fn. 71)
though goods sold there in 1717 included stockings,
one purchaser coming from Hurstpierpoint. (fn. 72) Before
1794 the fair was moved to a new site in Horsham
parish, east of the town. (fn. 73)

Ironworking.

Between c. 1550 and c. 1550 and c. 1660 the
chief non-agricultural economic activity of the parish
was ironworking.

The twin St. Leonard's ironworks at Hawkins and
Hammer ponds on the Horsham-Slaugham road
were the largest in western Sussex; (fn. 74) the eastern
pond, called Hammer pond, had a forge, known as
the upper forge, and the western pond, called
Hawkins pond by 1585, had both a forge, known as
the lower forge, and, later, a furnace. The St.
Leonard's ironworks were perhaps the ones near
Horsham mentioned in 1552; (fn. 75) corroboration may be
provided by mention of a French collier murdered in
the forest in 1556. (fn. 76) In 1585 their founder was said to
have been John Broadbridge. The ironworks certainly existed by 1562 when they were described as
'the iron mills in St. Leonard's Forest'. (fn. 77) By 1570,
the year of his death, Roger Gratwicke of Sullington
occupied the ironworks, and also leased woods at
New Park presumably to provide fuel. His son
Roger (fn. 78) continued to hold the ironworks until c.
1588; (fn. 79) both men were very wealthy. (fn. 80) The western
forge already had two fineries by c. 1576; the eastern
forge was enlarged by the building of a second one
in the 1580s. Before c. 1584 pig iron was perhaps
brought from Bewbush furnace (see below). At
about that date a furnace was built beside the lower
forge to use the same head of water; in 1588 it was
claimed to process 1,000 loads of ore annually, the
ore probably being obtained south-west of Colgate,
where many deep minepit craters could still be seen
in 1981. (fn. 81)

The ironworks were included in 1602 in the
Crown lease of St. Leonard's Forest to Sir John
Caryll. (fn. 82) The furnace ceased to be used c. 1615, (fn. 83)
but both forges continued in 1653. (fn. 84) In 1656 the
eastern forge had a finery, a chafery, and a warehouse, and the western forge two fineries, a chafery,
and a warehouse. (fn. 85) By 1664, however, both had
ceased operation, (fn. 86) and 12 years later they were said
to have fallen to the ground through disuse, (fn. 87) some
building materials from them having been sold by
the Crown c. 1670. (fn. 88)

The furnace at Gosden south-east of Crabtree was
built c. 1580 by Roger Gratwicke the younger, and
evidently used ore from Minepits wood nearby, (fn. 89)
where remains of pits survived in 1981. In the 1580s
Gratwicke's sole right to mine ore in the forest was
challenged by Walter Covert of Slaugham, who
apparently had some interest in the forest, (fn. 90) and
Edward Caryll of Shipley. Presumably in order to
supply Covert's furnace at Slaugham, (fn. 91) and therefore probably in the vicinity of Gosden furnace, they
began digging ore in the forest, their workmen
clashing several times with those of Gratwicke. In
reply to Gratwicke's suit against them the two men
alleged that his minepits were wastefully operated
and were producing more ore than he could use,
while they themselves were merely taking the lower
deposits which his men left behind. The dispute
may have been settled at the same time that Edward
Caryll acquired the Gosden ironworks, apparently
by 1586. He was said to employ at least 49 miners in
1587, (fn. 92) but since no more is heard of the Gosden
ironworks they may have been abandoned soon
afterwards.

A furnace at Bewbush existed by 1569, (fn. 93) presumably using ore from the Bewbush estate, as later. (fn. 94) It
seems usually to have been managed with Ifield
forge further downstream, since it was called Ifield
furnace in 1574. (fn. 95) In 1570 it was leased like the St.
Leonard's ironworks to Roger Gratwicke the elder, (fn. 96)
and the lease continued to belong to his son in
1578. (fn. 97) In the early 17th century Arthur Middleton,
lessee of Bewbush, held it together with Ifield forge
and ironworks elsewhere. (fn. 98) The furnace building
still stood in 1650, though it had then been empty
for c. 7 years; (fn. 99) by 1664 it was in ruins. (fn. 100)

Occupations provided by the ironworks included
those of hammerman, forgeman, and iron ore digger. (fn. 101) Some workmen came from other parishes, for
instance Horsham and Shipley, and work seems to
have been seasonal, (fn. 102) since two such immigrant
workers were described as husbandmen, one in 1588
having come to the parish to work during each of the
previous three years.

Mills.

Two hammerponds in the parish later
provided power for corn mills. Gosden mill is described below. (fn. 103) A mill at Bewbush existed from
1787 or earlier. (fn. 104) In 1862 the miller was also a
farmer. (fn. 105) The mill was disused by 1875, (fn. 106) and was
said in 1930 to have long disappeared. The mill pond
then survived (fn. 107) but had been drained for agriculture
by 1950. (fn. 108) The names Windmill field, recorded west
of Bewbush Manor House c. 1841, (fn. 109) and Windmill
burrow, recorded east of Colgate in 1874, (fn. 110) presumably refer to sites of windmills. A miller and shopkeeper was recorded in the parish in 1862 in addition
to the miller of Bewbush. (fn. 111)

Other trade and industry.

Stone was being
dug for roofing in the parish in 1439, (fn. 112) and Roger
Gratwicke the ironmaster dug over 200 loads in St.
Leonard's Forest to build his house at Cowfold in
the 1580s. (fn. 113) In 1849 excellent building stone was
said to be plentiful and extensively dug. (fn. 114) One quarry
near Carter's Lodge was apparently still working in
1895, besides others south of St. Leonard's house
and south-east of Lower Beeding church. (fn. 115)

Other trades recorded in the 16th and 17th centuries include those of foyster or saddletree maker in
1555, (fn. 116) blacksmith in 1647, (fn. 117) and victualler in 1667. (fn. 118)
Woodland also gave employment in other trades,
such as those of woodcutter, (fn. 119) sawyer, carpenter,
collier, i.e. maker of charcoal, and 'clapboard
maker', (fn. 120) mentioned in the later 16th century. Fish
farming was being practised at Bewbush in 1650,
when the furnace pond produced c. 800 carp which
were sold to a London fishmonger; other ponds at
Bewbush were then thought to be capable of use for
the same purpose. (fn. 121)

In 1811 one in nine or ten of families in work
listed in the parish were supported chiefly by nonagricultural occupations, and in 1831 one in six or
seven. At the later date, however, and possibly also
at the earlier, the figures given exclude St. Leonard's
Forest. (fn. 122) Many more tradesmen lived in the parish
after the mid 19th century. (fn. 123) In 1845 there were a
baker, a grocer and draper, and a timber valuer. A
shopkeeper at Lower Beeding village was recorded
in 1848, (fn. 124) and a wheelwright in the parish in 1852;
by 1862 there were a tailor and two shoemakers, and
by 1865 a grocer. (fn. 125) Heath broom makers were recorded in 1851 (fn. 126) and later. At Lower Beeding village
in 1882 there were also a baker, a builder, and a
draper and corn dealer. From 1909 or earlier there
was a butcher's shop there, and by 1938 a garage;
both survived in 1981. At Crabtree there was a shopkeeper in 1862 and a baker in 1874; by 1895 there
were also two shoemakers, a smith, and a coal and
coke merchant. At Colgate there were a blacksmith,
a beer retailer, and a shopkeeper in 1874, and by
1882 a shopkeeper and two grocers; by 1895 there
was a coal and coke dealer. Meanwhile the great
estates of the parish in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries yielded many non-agricultural occupations, notably those of gardener, gamekeeper, and
forester. St. Leonard's house had a smithy and a
timber yard in 1896; (fn. 127) at Buchan Hill under P. F. R.
Saillard (d. 1915) there were at least 14 indoor staff
and 7 gardeners, (fn. 128) while at South Lodge a carpenter
in 1964 had given 70 years' service to the estate, for
which his father too had worked. (fn. 129) In 1981 there was
a general stores at Lower Beeding village, besides
the butcher already mentioned, and a general stores
at Crabtree, but there were no shops or tradesmen at
Colgate, where the general stores had closed in
1976. (fn. 130) Some alternative employment was provided
by a sawmill near Hammer pond and by stables west
of Lower Beeding village. (fn. 131)

Bricks had been made in the parish in 1584, (fn. 132) and
there were brick kilns at Plummers Plain in 1803. (fn. 133)
Two brickmakers had works at Plummers Plain in
1851, one of whom, Richard Morley, a tenant of the
Leonardslee estate, burnt c. 7 kilns of bricks or tiles
a year, farmed 50 a., and employed 7 men. (fn. 134) In 1882
Morley's brickworks had reverted to the estate,
which employed a manager to run it. It had ceased
operation by 1896, and in 1909 another brickworks
existed further east along the road to Ashfold crossways. (fn. 135) The brickworks north-east of Holmbush on
the Horsham-Crawley road existed by 1862, when it
also made tiles, drain pipes, and brown ware. Later
known as the Holmbush pottery works, it survived
until 1938 or later. A third site of brickmaking in the
parish was south of the Horsham-Colgate road; a
brickworks was active there in the 1870s, but had
ceased by 1896. (fn. 136) After c. 1945 the site of the Holmbush brickworks was used by firms making breeze
blocks and paint. The firm of Bernard J. Newman,
builders' merchants and roofing contractors, was
formed in 1962 and expanded greatly in the next 20
years, supplying for instance over 200,000 handmade
clay tiles for the Horsham town centre redevelopment in the 1970s. In 1981 there were other firms on
the site too, including a firm of wholesale grocers and
a firm distributing central heating equipment. The
total number employed there was then c. 250. (fn. 137)

Footnotes

3. Arundel Cast. MS. M 814. Ibid. A 1860, rot. I, lists
4s. of new rent from an 'inholm', i.e. an assart; cf. P.N.
Suss. (E.P.N.S.), i. 29-30, 203. The site may be indicated
by the road name Inham's Lane which in 1771 apparently
described the modern Mill Lane at Crabtree: 11 Geo. III,
c. 99 (Priv. Act).